A/HRC/4/29 page 19 61. Few countries accept the general practice of charging fees in public education systems. However, many of the responses to the questionnaire recognize the existence of indirect fee-charging practices in public education, such as for the purchase of school supplies or payment of registration or exam fees. In the case of children and young people with disabilities, additional costs are higher owing primarily to the quantity of specialized materials and equipment required to “guarantee” adequate learning conditions. As the Special Rapporteur and his predecessor have repeatedly indicated, in cases in which it is recognized that direct or indirect fees for public education are charged to students with disabilities, the fees and charges for other related items have a negative impact on the ability of such persons to enter and remain in the education system. 62. Another interesting fact concerns the number of specialized schools in each country: this number varies depending on vital rates, the amount of financial resources allocated to education and the degree of development of inclusive education policies, among other factors. In many countries, there are a number of educational alternatives for children and young persons with disabilities, which are organized outside the formal education system. NGOs, informal education centres, rehabilitation centres subordinate to health ministries and departments, religious groups and community organizations offer a variety of activities ranging from home schooling to leisure and recreational facilities. The question of difference 63. It is clear that inclusive education should be part of a process and transformation initiated and carried out by the regular education system to a much greater extent than by the special education system. 64. From this perspective, what the responses seem largely to convey is the fact that inclusive education is in danger of being transformed into a new and improved policy of differentiation; in other words, into a process that, once again, singles out persons considered to be different from the rest; this contradicts the very spirit of the shift in education towards inclusion. If, it is a matter of refocusing the rules, and deciding who is and who is not covered by them, inclusion may end up being understood as a simple process of establishing rules that apply to certain groups or to certain specific environments. Non-governmental organizations 65. The Special Rapporteur notes that the specific strategies and practices of inclusion are in many cases promoted by NGOs.27 Some countries clearly assign responsibility for inclusion to these organizations, thereby relinquishing their obligations. This creates, without a doubt, a complicated situation: since the State does not assume the function of inclusion - not only academic but, more generally, social economic and cultural inclusion - many middle- or upper-class families resolve the issue of the inclusion of their children with disabilities by 27 World Vision UK: The global partnership for disability and development. Study on integrating disability into the education for all fast track initiative processes and national education plans. Progress report. November 2006, p. 11.